WE currently have a big deficit of £90 billion which stubbornly refuses to budge. It is going to take some big decisions if we are ever to get anywhere near to being in surplus.

Tinkering about with the odd billion here and there may sound good on the evening news , but politicians know these are only small drops in a big pond.

The bold policy aim of George Osborne’s to drastically cut central government expenditure looks promising.

Getting rid of a million overpaid bureaucratic Sir Humphreys on an average salary of £50,000 would immediately save £50billion, plus their other working costs.

The initial redundancy hit would be costly, but would set a tone that expensive public paper-shufflers, many just marking time until retirement, will only be employed if their jobs are truly necessary.

Geoff Robb, Hunters Close, Dunnington.